Fitzy

Now that everyone knows the value in an old car, all sorts of crap that should have been crushed decades ago is commanding top dollar. Remember the Holden Gemini? Now an emerging classic. 70s Mazda rotaries like the R100 are stratospheric. HQ holden 4 door Kingswood with a bench seat, 3 on the tree and 202? How does 40k sound? Ridiculous. The Yanks always had cars that we salivated over: all Ford, GM & Chrysler had to do was to allow local manufacture of those cars. Much cheaper than a standalone country specific model. Don't matter no more - it all went down the toilet.

What a day. I had a list on my workbench and was sick of walking past it and making excuses why I shouldn't do this or that. I rewrote it (in correct geographical & chronological order) and jumped in the ute and drove about 200km in total and got everything done - procrastination sent packing. One of the tasks was to get the new intake machined. I went to the machinist, told them the problem and the guy looked at it and said "hmm.." Turns out it's not as simple as whacking a slice of metal off the faces and hope for the best. First of all: original intake was not touched by machinist. He said the flycut marks are factory. He told me to take the Edelbrock back home and fit it without the gaskets. If it sits nicely and bolts in, then the gasket thickness is what they'll use as a reference. I thought to myself "why didn't I do that yesterday?" Seems so obvious now. Well blow me down, I did exactly that and would you believe it, it bolts right in. The intake gaskets are .060" thick, so that's what has to come off each face. He said this is a common issue and they machine hundreds of intakes. All you budding engine builders reading this - take note. Installed new valvetrian components yesterday. Easy to adjust rockers with valley pan removed as you can see where each cam lobe is. Checked geometry, but lift is so minimal (stock half inch) that roller contacts valve stem perfectly through it's very short arc. Couldn't resist taking some pics for you - engine is looking really nice.

Latest instalment re the car: I was going great guns, new lifters, pushrods & roller rockers installed & adjusted, fitted the water pump & valley pan and was ready to fit the intake. I thought before I commit to applying sealant to everything, I'll just make extra sure that all the bolts line up. When I saw that it was NEVER going to fit, I remembered that the machinist had decked the block & heads by the tiniest amount just to true the surfaces. I looked at the old intake and after removing the old gaskets from it, could clearly see where it had been flycut to fit the newly machined heads. Bloody hell - scrape off my new gaskets (which promptly tore) and readied it to take to a machinist tomorrow to skim the sides. Then I sat down, cracked a beer and ordered yet again another set of intake gaskets. Weirdly, I test fitted the intake a while ago and it looked to be right. It was only after attempting to thread some bolts in that the error had become apparent. Never mind - I need a break from stuff anyway.

Well, the wallabies are one type and the other smaller darker ones are called pademelons. Everything else is a pest, but not these. Whilst cleaning my teeth this morning, I idly glanced out the window to see an olive tree python attempting to cross from one water tank to the other. The silly thing dropped to the ground then slithered off and found a tree to go up - better grip than a poly water tank.

So many old cars in NZ - looks like Taupo has it's fair share too.

I've managed to get you a ticket...by ship...in a container...I will provide a hammock & a bucket. If you survive the trip (unlikely) I'll pick you up from the bus station in Cairns. Come on, how could you refuse such a generous offer?

I bought a secondhand Honda powered generator a couple of weeks ago - the power goes off around here with monotonous regularity, and it needed a little house to keep it out of the weather so I knocked that up today. Another day of fluffing about with car bits & pieces. I attached gaskets to intake (note special gaskets that incorporate exhaust crossover block), valley pan & water pump. Chucked a clear coat on the rocker covers, painted the intake & water pump nuts & bolts and soaked the lifters in a bath of oil. I tested them (pushed down with a pushrod) prior to their bath and they were all squishy. Let's see if they pump up overnight. Tomorrow I want to finish my mosaic'ed laundry trough which will be the wallaby drinking fountain. I did the mosaic work and it just needs the top metal frame polished and clearcoated and I can then fill it with water, and I guess I will gingerly start adding valvetrain components. I'm taking my time with this one - I do NOT want another engine failure. In case anyone is interested, my time at the Mine as a warehouse officer will end just after Christmas, so I may go back to driving a bus, which is semi retirement anyway. Big day - time for a beer. Oh, and can I add that if anyone reading this is going to rebuild their engine, go for the Flowkooler water pump - a more efficient design, especially at idle when your big 'ol V8 is likely to get hot.

Wow - some serious work has gone into that. I also can't wait to see her when she's complete and cleaned up. Nice work. If I go to NZ and help Kiwi with his 389, will you come to Oz and paint my car?

Hi Frosty, car shows are a bit sparse up my way. There are enough local clubs and events to keep peeps happy, but due to the geography your cruising choices are limited, and travelling anywhere significant involves some distance. Because we are essentially on the edge of major human habitation, 4WDs are the preferred vehicle - I think it'd be fair to say that 50% of all cars up my way are proper duty 4WD. I have a choice of local clubs to join and every second person you speak to seems to have something tucked away in the shed, now that old cars are valuable, but I'm not really that sociable and the thought of joining a convoy of cars to some local destination fills me with dread more than anything. Showing the GP at the Atherton Car Show was worth doing though. Ha! That'll be easy - mine will be pushing me out the door to make sure I don't miss my flight!

You know what - I'd be there in a flash. I reckon Taupo was my fave on the whole trip and I would love to immerse myself there for 6 months or so. Betcha scared now, aintcha? Just because I rebuilt ONE 389 doesn't make me any sort of expert but haven't I learnt a lot over the past few years. I would be honoured to be tasked with your rebuild. For the record, I love Steinlager. Just sayin'...

Is there any greater drudgery than scaping off old gaskets? Especially when they have only been on a short while and I did a damn fine job of ensuring there'd be no oil leaks. Anyway, I got all the old gasket and sealer off and ran a rag dipped in thinners over the surface in preparation for the new gaskets. Painted the sheet metal bits & the water pump I pulled off the engine, so they will sit in the tropical sun for a few days to allow the engine enamel to cure. Engine might not go, but it's at least gonna look nice. Will soak new lifters in oil for most of tomorrow, I'll chuck a little assembly lube on each cam lobe (will change oil shortly after test drive anyway) and will fit the new roller tip rockers. I'll attach new gaskets to various components (incl. intake) and will check that ports match up. Might have to shorten the water pump crossover bolt (Edelbrock's instructions) before final fit so will have a look at that too.

Thanks Wrongway - that's reassuring. Looks like we stumbled onto a little known piece of engine building tech. You have no idea how relieved I am to see yours & Andy's pics. You always imagine the cam lobes directly under the lifters, but as I said before, no lifter rotation will occur unless there is some offset. My post yesterday inexplicably disappeared, but in short it was how I got all the old gaskets off and am now repainting various removed engine bits that I didn't do properly before. Will post something later.

"It's Warp Drive Jim, but not as we know it."

So Frosty, being November is it too early for snow where you are? I must say that it is unusually cool here for this time of year - we still have a blanket on the bed which is unheard of so late in the year. I think I heard that the current El Nino means that seasonal changes occur later. I also agree with Kiwi - Light My Fire is just such a good song. Remember when they performed on the Ed Sullivan show and he told them to not sing 'higher' due to the perceived drug reference? Of course, not only did Jim sing it but accentuated it! Good times.

The cam is a Melling 068. Thankfully, Andy's & mine look to have similar variance. As I said, all the pics on the net were also similar. TwoLane sounds astonished! It just doesn't look right, but I recall fitting the cam and checking that the bearings were indeed aligned. With the cam bearings aligned and the required clearance at the rear block plug, there's no real adjustment. Once the thrust plate was in, the cam's endplay was just a few thou as it should be. I installed the timing chain and everything looked correct - including exact vertical alignment between the gears. That alone told me the cam was indeed installed correctly. You need to remember that the distributor gear has to mesh with the cam too, and it looks fine and works as it should. I suppose when you think about it, if the lifters were centred on the lobes, no amount of convex surfacing is going to make the lifters rotate. You need to have them offset to ensure rotation. What do you think? I also think that the second pic amplifies the offset. From that angle, they look waaaay off centre - I feel more comfortable looking at the top pic!

FINALLY, they sent me home! I am home for almost all of November, so no excuse to not get the GP back on the road. Brand new 19 year old Edelbrock inlet manifold (NOS) was delivered whilst I was at work. Today I unpacked it - still in it's original box! I read through all the included literature from Edelbrock and it was a glimpse into the past - no website addresses in sight. They also included a leaflet spruiking their (then) new AVS carby. We all know the AVS2 superseded that one ages ago. So today I drained the coolant, removed the water pump and prised the ancient cast iron Pontiac manifold off the engine. The Edelbrock is aluminium and feels like it weighs half of the old monster. I have removed all the bits & pieces and will clean them up and repaint as necessary. I removed the valley pan and there were my lifters. But...upon inspection I see the lifters are not aligned with the cam lobes. I had an inkling that they are supposed to be slightly offset to promote lifter turning, but mine look to be excessive. I got on the Net and looked around, and all of a sudden mine are typical of other posted pics. Have a look at mine and see what you think. I sort of recall buttoning up the camshaft and peering into the valley and noticing misalignment but I can't remember anything after that! Perhaps the old brain blocked it out and told me everything was Archie. I remember checking & double checking the thrust plate installation and I'm sure I got it right. I'll look again with fresh eyes tomorrow and will determine if I can live with it. If so, it SHOULD be a simple reinstallation of all the crap I just took apart. Can't wait to hear the exhaust rumble again - it really does sound the goods...when it runs. One extra note - goddam lifters are all over the place. Some are firm but most are squishy. I reckon I got a particularly bad batch from Melling.

That horse should take up fencing as a sport. Anyway- here's my response to your humorous pic: That's not me by the way.

All the crap from Ames turned up today (that was QUICK. Are you listening, Australia Post???) Just waiting for the new blingy intake and then I'm good to delve in and pull stuff apart. I'm gonna take my time and repaint the rocker covers, paint the water pump and tidy things up in there. I might even clear coat the new intake so I can just wipe it clean when it needs it. Will also attend to that eensy weensy coolant leak at the crossover. I used a new seal when I rebuilt everything but it still leaked. I shall break out the RTV and ensure no leaks. I recall that my heads were skimmed when they were rebuilt. I'll have to ensure the new intake sits right and that the ports align - might have to get it skimmed too. It's only money.

Nice new Johnson Hylift lifters were here when I got home AND I managed to score a secondhand unused Edelbrock Performer Pontiac intake manifold for less than half the price of a retail one, which is on it's way. Just need to remove everything, inspect the cam lobes & pushrods and then whack everything back in. Then it's off to get the dual master cylinder fitted. It's only money, right? Oh, and some goodies are coming from Ames. My money sent to the US will help pay for those 2 aircraft carriers in the Middle East! Man - that's gonna get ugly.

This is the pushrod setting clip: https://youtu.be/z7aasJTJroQ?feature=shared

A mixed bag of stuff here: First off, I YT'd setting pushrod length and sat through a very informative video talking about valvetrain geometry, the way rocker tips contact the valve stems. Really interesting - I had no idea. You need to adjust rocker height on the stud in order to optimise contact with the stem as the rocker moves through it's arc. You're all probably nodding your heads smug in the knowledge you already knew that. Want to google some fun? Look up RC V8. Yep - miniature perfectly made DOHC tiny V8s - even with a functioning blower. A bit bulky for a RC car, but fascinating all the same. Last one. I saw an ad for crate motors in a mag. Ever heard of an electric crate motor? They now exist. I know how passionate you all are about EVs - now you can ditch that smelly old V8 and bolt in an electric motor. Handy for those tree hugging outings. AND no rocker arm geometry to worry about!

I decided to man up today and started prep for intake removal, albeit gingerly. I can't afford to tear my new wound (internal stitches - if they get infected it's gonna be dramatic.) I took some pics. The good news is that all rocker studs look straight and are dead level. Tell me what you think: have a look at the valve stem tops. I don't know if those scratches & wear marks are normal. I would have thought that if rocker clearance was correct, zero lash means no tapping or hammering on the stem tops. The damaged spring retainer is from the rocker that was pushed sideways. Also, I have a lot of spongey lifters - although engine hasn't run for some time, I can push down on several pushrods and feel lots of movement. I inspected all rockers and they look pretty good if they're the original 60 year old ones. Doesn't matter because new ones are going in. Once lifters turn up I can do the install - 7 days at work first. I need to remember to carefully check all pushrods too. The minimal outlay for new better quality ones might be the go, regardless. Any suggestions?

Things that hurt my back! Getting up, sitting down, leaning into the engine bay, crawling under the car, getting out from under the car, sex...need I go on? Come on, you guys remember sex. It's what we used to do before the 'project' car made it's way into the workshop.

Thanks again TwoLane. I ended up googling it and saw that racers often change intakes depending on what their next race is. If I ever got to that point in my life, I'd be looking for a proper hobby! Like knitting scarves or basket weaving. Really? Changing intakes? Weirdoes. I already have a phenolic spacer and am in total agreeance with you. Engineers don't just add things to engines to keep themselves busy - there's always a reason. Still waiting for lifters to arrive - by camel, apparently...via Saturn. Re Bathurst racecars. Historically, Bathurst was one of many venues where cars you could buy were raced. In fact, many racers would pick up the car from the dealer, drive it to Bathurst from Sydney or Melbourne, race it and then drive it home! The old adage was "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday." Pop some decals on it, fasten your (factory) seatbelt, chuck on a helmet and drive the wheels off it. The rules have changed over the decades. The race used to comprise several classes of cars but the bogan (redneck) gorillas at the track were either Ford or Holden, and so the rules were changed so that only those 2 brands competed. With the demise of Australian car manufacture, it's now Camaros & Mustangs. Now, I haven't researched this info so if it's wrong, please feel free to correct me, but the last time I checked they used a 'control' 5 litre engine, control tyres and I think they run on E85? They are also proper racecars these days with all the mods you'd expect. Obviously, you CAN buy either car from a dealer but with their respective different engines. The race is now effectively a tool to keep the bogans happy in the faint hope that they might rush off to the dealer and buy themselves a new car.